The Importance of Managing Risk for you and Your Customers in a Volatile Market

By Jacob Bryce
Published on September 5, 2024

 In today’s agricultural economy, both dealers and farmers are navigating a landscape filled with uncertainties. Higher interest rates, lower commodity prices, and a slowdown in equipment sales are creating challenges that impact decision making and profitability. For dealers, it’s critical to find ways to provide added value to customers, while also safeguarding your own financial stability.

Machinery Scope’s extended warranty solutions offer a strategic advantage for both parties by mitigating the risks associated with equipment ownership. For equipment owners, extended warranty coverage provides peace of mind, ensuring that they can proceed with necessary equipment purchases without fear of unexpected repair costs that could disrupt their cash flow. Knowing their investment is protected, farmers are more likely to commit to a machinery purchase, even in a volatile market. For dealerships, offering extended warranties does more than just provide an additional revenue stream—it enhances the potential for your business both long and short term.

Here’s how:

  • Increase in Equipment Turns: Warranty provides buyers with the confidence to make purchases, which can lead to improved equipment turns for dealers.
  • Margin Opportunities: Whether it’s through your sales department at the point of sale, or on equipment being serviced in your shop, selling extended warranties can create new profit margins for dealerships. These plans contribute to the dealership’s bottom line without the need for additional overhead.
  • Preserving Margins: Rather than sending equipment to auction, let’s leverage every available tool to help close sales at the dealership that will result in better net proceeds. In addition, extended warranty helps to maintain the integrity of the original sale by reducing the need for post sale chargebacks due to potential mechanical failures. With warranty in place, the risk of post sale issues are minimized, ensuring that the dealership’s initial margin on the sale remains intact.
  • Aftermarket Revenue: Our Machinery Scope extended warranty plans are serviced within our authorized OEM dealer network, ensuring the best interest of all parties involved in a potential claim, and providing parts and service revenue to the dealership. Additionally, sales going through your dealership also lead to a higher likelihood of aftermarket revenue opportunities for the dealership.

Machinery Scope’s extended warranty solutions offer farmers the security to invest in updating equipment and provide dealers with a tool to enhance profitability and operational efficiency. By incorporating this into your sales strategy, you’re supporting your customers through challenging times and adding revenue opportunities for your dealership.

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Equipment Extended Warranty FAQs

Having been in the business since 2013, we’ve put together a list of the most commonly asked questions we hear regarding Extended Warranty. If you have a question you can’t find here, please feel free to contact us.

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What types of coverages are available?

The parts covered are the main difference between each plan. It is important to review the breakdown of what is covered by each level of protection being offered in the terms and conditions of the coverage.

  • Powertrain: This plan includes the components pertaining to the engine and transmission that oil touches. Our plans will also provide coverage on additional related components.
  • Powertrain+: Covers the hydraulic pumps and valves. In some instances, Powertrain+ will need to be purchased to cover hydraulic drive components, such as factory installed rear-wheels assist on combines.
  • Ultimate: covers several components often found in comprehensive coverage but is not to be considered “full machine” or “bumper-to-bumper.” Covered components include, but are not limited to emissions components, starter, alternator, engine block heater, ac compressor, factory installed auto steer, front axle suspension, ROPS and FOPS.

We are always happy to talk through the details of the different solutions that we can offer so that you have the information and full transparency to decide what is best for your operation.

What are the benefits of having extended warranty on my equipment?

There are numerous reasons why having an extended warranty plan might make sense for your operation. Besides being a risk management tool on your operation, having extended warranty remaining on used equipment will translate to improved resale value. For example, we estimate that used equipment with at least one year and 250 hours of coverage will have improved resale value between 1% and 5%. For dealerships, equipment that has coverage will sell more quickly than those that do not (assuming everything else being equal).

Most importantly, an extended warranty plan can save you from the financial burden of a major repair bill. Extending the protection on your equipment provides peace of mind by helping to turn an unknown variable cost into a known fixed cost.

What are the key differences between all the companies that offer coverage?

Most OEM’s offer some type of coverage. There are also independent providers, such as Machinery Scope, that offer coverage for a wide range of equipment types, makes, and models of equipment. We are proud to offer our solutions to equipment dealers so that we can protect their mainline offerings as well as competitive trades. Machinery Scope is also proud of being deeply rooted in the equipment industry, both in our farming operations and within the equipment dealerships. Our roles within the equipment dealership have included, sales, sale management, operational management, service technician, and service management. We understand this business and we are proud to leverage that to make it easy for our dealers and their customers to do business.

Another key distinction from one program to the next is how the programs are financially supported. Programs can be fully insured, reinsured, bonded, or backed by the financial strength of the administrator and/or the company offering the policies. Additionally, commercial extended service contracts are regulated differently by each state. Certain terms, products, and or programs will vary from state to state. It is not unreasonable to ask questions. At Machinery Scope, we administer the plans we provide and are proud to be backed by CNA to provide you with a product that you can count on when you need it most.

What factors determine how much my plan will cost?

As you can imagine, the cost of the coverage varies. This will depend on the following factors:

  • Age of the equipment
  • Current hours
  • Type of equipment
  • Horsepower
  • Usage
  • Prior claims history on that model (or series)
  • Requested Years of Coverage
  • Requested Hours Per Year
  • Coverage Type (Powertrain, Powertrain+, or Ultimate)
  • Deductible